Jeannie Evers: Netflix makes water cooler an awkward gathering place

Netflix launched its original series last week, posting all 13 episodes online at once on the premise that people like to marathon their way through TV shows rather than wait week to week. As someone on track to watch all 86 episodes of "The Sopranos" in less than two months, I can't argue with the logic.

TV critics and industry types are curious about whether the " Netflix model" will change the way we watch television, but less frequently mentioned is what effect it will have on the way we talk about television. (For simplicity's sake, I'll consider "House of Cards" — about politics at its manipulative worst, starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright — to be television, even though it's available only online.)

Because Netflix subscribers can watch "House of Cards" at their own pace, not everyone is on the same page — and that takes away from the conversation, which, I've come to learn, is half the fun of fandom.

I didn't truly appreciate the water cooler aspect until I caught up with "Lost" in the middle of its run, breezing through the first three seasons on DVD before watching the rest week to week like most viewers. There was a whole other world attached to that show — speculation, literary analysis and sometimes very detailed theories on What It All Means. Most of those theories were undone by the next week's episode, but who cares? The conversation continues.

Now let's look at "House of Cards," using The Herald's newsroom as an example. One gung-ho reporter, perhaps appropriately, watched all 13 episodes in the first few days. As of this writing I was about halfway through, my boss had seen two episodes and the page designer was too busy catching up on "Downton Abbey" and other shows to even think about delving into "House of Cards."

My boss and I talked briefly, and in broad strokes, about the show. Then he threw a theory at me — a theory I knew the answer to, being further along and wiser. I shrugged in unconvincing ignorance and the conversation shut down. I could always talk to the reporter, but I'm afraid he'll be as good a liar as I am and spoil something.

Netflix at least recognizes the hurdle. In the first few days after "House of Cards" went up, it tweeted a link to the website Vulture, which was offering a place to talk for people who had already watched the whole shebang. And it tried to limit spoilers on Twitter by imploring viewers to "watch responsibly."

This isn't really a new problem, either, but a continuation of a trend brought on by DVRs and other resources that let people watch shows on their own schedule. According to a recent pilot study by Nielsen, the top 10 broadcast shows are watched live by just 64percent of viewers. Most of the rest catch up within seven days. Because I work nights, I'm one of them.

Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone like me? "Hey, did you see 'The Office' last night?" "No." Productive.

Naturally, it gets worse the further away from live you get. Herald columnist Peter Funt powered through two seasons of "Homeland" in three days over the holidays, just weeks after the second season had ended. "I rushed into the New Year fully prepped to discuss 'Homeland,'" he wrote, "only to find that those who have seen it are already talked out."

With three new Netflix series on the horizon — and successive seasons of three others, including "House of Cards" — we may just have to get used to watching in a bubble.